V.A. : "Ishumar"
Music Of The Sahara V.A. : Ishumar
-music of the Touareg Resistance- (ML/NI,2008)****
In two albums, Re-Aktion gives an introduction to the two main Touareg guitar movements. Part one needs of course an introduction of how the first movement came to existence and this is well explained in the booklet. Because this is all in French I will make a small resume of the story.
The area where the Toareg community lives through colonisation became divided into 5 different parts that belong to different countries. They always had lived outside these unrealistic borders. The decolonisation only made this fact to something worse, leading to further and further discrimination. A certain revolt in a local prison in Nigeria led to a first ethnic cleanout by the army with 1500 deaths in 1990. Because no political solutions were being considered as urgent or realistic, it led only to more arrests. When the Touaregs got armed, in 1991, the Mali government, not wanting to participate into negotiation, executed all nobles in public. It took until 1992 before under influence of Algeria, a peace pact was signed. The reality was that most Touareg now lived in exile, stripped from their original possessions. Already since the 70s lots of tindé singers met. In the 80s a musical collective called Tinarwen invented a new genre through the electric guitar to increase the awareness of what is happening, to a protest and mobilise in group, spreading cassettes with their musical message. At the time the peace pact was signed, the music remained an element of their new identity, crossing all these nations with a common sense rooted in the traditional tindé style. Since 2000 the genre became more commercialised and festivals were held. This first compilation shows the diversity amongst the musician playing after the example of Tinarwen. The bands involved were there in the first hour of its resistance and existence, all have experienced struggle and exile.
The songs included are not those recorded on the early tapes, but are all later recordings. On this stage it is unclear to say how many bands calmed down over the year or how they changed their creative inspirations. Often they sound more relaxed and happy.
The early band Terakraft (Mali) are there with two tracks. They are somewhat comparable to Tinarwen. The first song, “Tenere wer tat zinchegh”, sound almost like a new traditional in the genre, a kind of sing-along folk-pop/rocker as a matter of speaking. This track is played with two electrified guitars, a reggae-like guitar rhythm and group singing responses. Also two tracks fromTinarwen are added. The first one is lovely because of the whole group of people responding to the song including children. It has a relaxed walking rhythm, a long repetitive song track with a warm group participating feeling. The other track is led by blues guitar. The third track showsHasso Akotey’s (Niger) distinctive fingerpicking style, rhythmically accompanied with handclaps, some percussion and strummed guitar, with some lead singing. Hamid Ekawel’s guitar style is bluesier, other guitars accompany him too, one of them takes the role of the bass accompaniment.Japonais’s (Mali) picking style is interesting too. Other guitars accompany him too, one of them takes the role of the bass accompaniment. Bambino’s track is the second sing-a-long track which sound good in the ear with attractive acoustic guitar and hand clap rhythms.Etran Finatawa (Niger) is partly a guitar group, partly a dance group, are comparable for the electric guitars to Tinarwen, have also shaking bells rhythms, have lots of people responding, clearly are a bigger group event. Also Koudede (Niger) has been influenced by blues, this time electric blues guitar. With hand clap rhythms and females responding. Tamikrest (Mali) is clearly rockier, with electric guitars and rocking drums. We hear solo voice and female voice responses. Exceptionally different is Toumast, with a very beautiful female lead voice reminding more of some Scandinavian folk singers actually. Their music is well produced, has a rocking effect in the rhythm and deep overtone voices added too. A welcome variation.
Music Of The Sahara V.A. : Ishumar 2 -new Touareg Guitars- (ML/NI/ALG,2011)**°'
The second volume focuses especially on the style changes after 30 years of popularising the Touareg guitar music, and on the second generation of guitarists, dealing with migration and repetition of what is known, changing with this the shape and colour and tone of the song and guitar style. Some of the tracks sound rockier with a few more solos on the electric guitar. Amanar even incorporates an element of rap in their own mother tongue. And here and there we hear guests on flute contributing with good ideas. Nabil Baly Othmani’s track strangely became completely blues, which sounds also less inspired and going one step down in energy. Tamkilwate”s track as well sound like an opposite evolution towards a more underground style, with smoked voice and electric solos that remind vaguely of psychedelia, while the repetition becomes more demanding, we in the west wanted to get away from these sounds, while we experienced Africans had more life-energy to offer, now also some of the Touaregs became adapted into the city lifes with little less direct experiences. Moussa Bilalan Ag Ganta’s guitar track is mixed with some echoes, reveal a studio setting, not the urge that brought the sounds to studio. The effects are different. Moussa Sidi’s track has a dark keyboard in the background with the electrified guitar pickings. In fact not too much new is coming to something yet, the general sounds have already been changed.
